This invention relates to athletic shoes with grooves in the outer sole surface to increase traction and more particularly to such athletic shoes providing improved traction during dynamic use on a variety of relatively hard playing surfaces due to the shape, orientation and distribution of the grooves.
Athletes and players perform on a great variety of playing surfaces including natural grass and dirt, synthetic or artificial turf and artificial composition surfaces used for field games like football, soccer, lacrosse and baseball and court games like basketball, tennis, racketball and squash. Natural grass and artificial turf are clearly not the same. Artificial turf has different properties than natural grass. On natural grass fields, the well-known replaceable conical cleat used on football, soccer and lacrosse shoes penetrates the grass surface into the soil and the lateral forces exerted on the hole in the soil caused by the penetrating cleat are contained; and, as a result, the player propels himself in the direction he intends without slipping. However, such replaceable conical cleats suitable on natural grass are not suitable on artificial turf, because the artificial turf cannot be penetrated.
For play on artificial turf that has tufts of fibers on the surface as a simulation of grass, many small cleats are molded as an integral part of the shoe outer sole. These include soles with many small cleats. The arrangements of the small cleats on the sole vary, and some offer soles with cleats of different sizes. Since the cleats do not penetrate the surface of the artificial turf, traction depends upon the friction between the end of the cleat and the tufts of fibers on the surface. The acceptance of any specific cleat design depends largely on the preference of the players. One such molded cleat outer sole is described in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,274, entitled "Athletic Shoe Cleats For Artificial Turf", which issued May 6, 1986.
Thus, cleats are the clear favorite in field sports for use on natural grass and/or dirt. Although cleats are widely used on artificial turf, non-cleated shoes are also used on that surface as described in my above mentioned U.S. patent. For some games, like tennis, cleats cannot be used even on natural grass or dirt, because cleats would so disturb (damage) the playing surface that the ball would not bounce evenly and would require much repair after each use. Clearly, cleated shoes cannot be used on smooth hard surfaces, because they would slip too easily and they cannot be used on smooth resilient surfaces, because they are not effective and would damage the surface. Cleated shoes are usually removed when the user leaves the playing field, because they slip on other surfaces and/or may damage other surfaces and they are simply not comfortable on other surfaces.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved outer sole for an athletic shoe that does not have cleats projecting from the outer sole surface.
It is another object to provide a groove design and an arrangement of grooves on the outer sole surface of an athletic shoe that affords the wearer improved dynamic traction.
It is another object to provide an improved outer sole for an athletic shoe that enables the wearer to have the necessary traction on a playing surface when the wearer intentionally accelerates in any direction in normal athletic activity.
It is another object to provide an athletic shoe outer sole having particularly advantageous use on hard playing surfaces.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved outer sole for an athletic shoe that does not have cleats projecting from the outer sole surface.
It is another object to provide a groove design and an arrangement of grooves on the outer sole surface of an athletic shoe that affords the wearer improved dynamic traction and does not pick up foreign objects or material.
It is another object to provide an improved outer sole for an athletic shoe that enables the wearer to have the necessary traction on a playing surface when the wearer intentionally accelerates in any direction in normal athletic activity and does not pick up foreign objects or material.
It is another object to provide an outer sole for a basketball shoe that affords the wearer improved resistance to slipping in dynamic action.
It is another object to provide an outer sole for a hard court tennis shoe that affords the wearer improved resistance to slipping in dynamic action.
It is another object to provide an outer sole for a grass court tennis shoe that affords the wearer improved resistance to slipping in dynamic action.
It is another object to provide an outer sole for a hard court racketball or handball shoe that affords the wearer improved resistance to slipping in dynamic action.
It is another object to provide an outer sole for a deck shoe that affords the wearer improved resistance to slipping.